“I felt confident, felt good with the car and put it all together. I congratulate him and I wanted to jump up and applaud him because I love to see technique like that. Twice a semi-finalist on French Open clay, Thiem was slow to find his footing on the New York hardcourts as Mannarino took early control at 5-3. Manpreet is the current captain of the team but his international career is just six years old. ’Two first-half strikes by Francisco “Isco” Alarcon helped Spain beat Italy 3-0 Saturday and move closer to securing a World Cup spot. Mayer briefly threatened a comeback when he pulled a break back for 5-3 in the fourth set but Nadal served it out at 5-4 with Mayer sending a forehand long on match point. ’Gaining at least a point on Tuesday at Honduras is critical for the United States’ chances to qualify for an eighth straight World Cup. What makes Oltmans’ ouster, the latest departure, curious is that some of his own wards were party to the execution. The North Africans are one of three teams that represented Africa at the last World Cup which are highly unlikely to repeat in 2018. from Max Gradel and two from Seydou Doumbia taking Ivory Coast back to the top of Group C ahead of Morocco.